Peanut Noodles with Sriracha-Lime Tofu

I have been looking forward to sharing this dish with you because I can’t stop thinking about it. It was absolutely delicious, spicy and flavorful. The balance between the delicate rice noodles and the rich, creamy sauce was perfect. The vegetables had the perfect amount of crispness to contrast the noodles and the tofu took on such great flavor from the sriracha and lime it was cooked in. I loved it so much I ate it for dinner three times this week and wish there was still more. And that’s coming from a girl who doesn’t really love leftovers.

{Peanut Noodles with Sriracha-Lime Tofu}

Ingredients:

• 1 c. vegetable broth
• 5 T. all-natural peanut butter (I used crunchy)
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. Sriracha
• 2 T. Liquid Aminos (or Soy Sauce)
• 1 T. grated ginger
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 block extra-firm Tofu, pressed to remove liquid
• 2-3 T. lime juice
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed with garlic press
• 1 T. grated ginger
• 2-3 t. canola oil (or sesame)
• 8 ounces of rice noodles
• 1 c. chopped green onion
• 1.5 c. carrot shreds
• 1.5 c. broccoli slaw
• chopped peanuts (for garnish)

For the sauce, combine first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well-blended. Stir occasionally. Set-aside when done, should take 5-10 minutes.

Boil water for the rice noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain.

Cube pressed tofu in 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with lime juice, crushed garlic, grated ginger and salt & pepper (if desired).

Heat a large skilled. Add oil and tofu. Sauté until tofu starts to brown. When done, remove from heat and set aside.

Add green onions, carrot shred and broccoli slaw to skillet. Saute until tender but still crisp. You may wish to add a bit of vegetable broth to aid in this.

Toss noodles with peanut sauce. When well mixed, plate peanut noodles atop a vegetables. Top with tofu and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

*Serves 4-6

Tequila Lime Tofu

For some reason brainstorming Halloween costume ideas led me to thinking about burritos (don’t even ask me what the correlation was) and I decided that’s what I wanted for dinner. Tired of veggie burritos, and not having any thawed chicken, I remembered a block of tofu in the fridge. Tofu burritos? Sounds good. Then I started thinking about how I wanted to prepare the tofu. This somehow led my mind to the bottle of tequila in the freezer, and the idea was born: Tequila Lime Tofu. I searched for a recipe and found one that sounded great and easy. (Easy was very important as it is Sunday after all).

Tequila Lime Tofu (adapted from veggievixen)

• 15 ounces of drained (extra) firm tofu
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro (or 4 tsp dried)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup tequila
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

Remove the excess water from the tofu before marinating. Place the tofu on a firm surface and put a baking sheet on top. On the baking sheet, place four 15 ounce cans. The weight on the tofu should be enough to cause the sides to bend outward slightly, but does not squash the tofu. Wait one hour to allow the fluid to drain out of the tofu. Take drained tofu and cut into ½ inch thick slices. Combine lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro and olive oil in a bowl to make marinade. Place tofu slices, side by side, in a large baking dish. Pour marinade into container, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Turn the slices over after the hour and marinade for another hour. Preheat oven to 375 and place tofu slices on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on each side (total 30 to 40 minutes). Serve warm or let cool and store in sealed container no longer than 3 or 4 days.This tofu was amazing. Marinating them for 2 hours really gave them great flavor and even though I cubed a few pieces to put in my burrito, it is great all on its own.

My BIG open-faced burrito. In the mix was: tofu, corn, black beans, red peppers, mushrooms, cumin, chili pepper, cayenne pepper and cinnamon (?) – Funny story: I did a couple shakes of what I thought was chili pepper and realized it was cinnamon… oops! It actually tasted pretty good in there though!

And on top: shredded cheddar, salsa and sour cream. I was able to roll it up into a burrito-like apparatus but my fork came in very handy for scooping up stray veggies.

About yesterday’s low-fat, sugar-free brownies, the secret is IN THE BEANS! The water, oil and eggs are all replaced with one can of pureed black beans! Sounds strange? Well it is… but the brownies are not! They taste like those Little Debbie Fudge Brownies of my childhood, I swear!

Directions: drain and rinse one can of black beans, rinse out the can and dump beans back in. Fill can to top with water. Add can with beans and water to a food processor/blender and puree! Pour mixture into bowl with brownie mix and when well mixed, transfer batter to baking pan and cook according the package directions. It’s that simple! Do it.

Homemade Pad Thai – Oh My!

Last night I made one of my top five favorite dishes for dinner. No, I don’t mean it is one of my top five favorite things to make. It’s one of my favorites to eat. This was the first time I have ever attempted making it and I have to say, I did a pretty good job. And one of my favorite things about this version of Pad Thai? It’s made with whole wheat organic linguine as opposed to rice noodles which means increased nutritional value AND it filled me up faster. Win-win.

As I was having company for dinner, I whipped up some of my scallion pancakes as a starter. They were a hit. I am becoming more and more fond of my spicy sesame oil. I don’t think I could use one that doesn’t have that kick now… it really makes the scallion pancakes stand out.

I didn’t take any pictures of the prep of the dish. Mostly because I was running around like a mad woman trying to man all the pans on the stove AND because I kept misplacing my camera. But this is it, ready to be served. The picture is a bit foggy because there was still steam billowing from it.

So here it is:

Pad Thai adapted from Healthy Cooking (Serves 6)

• 1 package (12 ounces) whole wheat fettuccine
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 5 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar  
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Dash hot sauce
• 1 package (12 ounces) extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• Bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables containing snow peas, carrots, etc.
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions

• Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and hot sauce until smooth; set aside.
• In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry tofu in 2 teaspoons oil until golden brown. Remove and keep warm. Stir-fry mostly thawed frozen vegetables in remaining oil for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add egg substitute; cook and stir until set.
• Drain pasta; add to vegetable mixture. Stir vinegar mixture and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Add tofu and onions; heat through. Sprinkle with peanuts. 

Note: I used frozen vegetables because that’s what I had on hand, obviously if you prefer fresh… go right ahead! This dish can also be prepared with chicken, shrimp, etc. I used tofu because I really like it in this dish.

The flavors in this dish were GREAT. I think when I make it next time I might cook the tofu in a bit of the spicy sesame oil to give them a bit more kick. But it was fantastic and believe me, I am a HUGE fan of takeout Pad Thai. I think that I’ve even made the bold claim that I could eat it every day. Yup, I think it’s that great. Now I’m starting to regret sending home the leftovers with my dinner guest…